Liftmaster LA400 gate opener forgetting remotes

[gkw4815]

Our rental property has a Liftmaster LA400 security gate operator. At least 20 years old, we had the control board replaced ~9 years ago.

Lately it has developed an issue where the gate opener will "forget" the paired remotes roughly every few weeks or so. The opener will still work fine via the open/close button on the control board, and if I re-pair the remotes they will work for a few more weeks.

I'm pretty sure a new control board ($$$) will fix the issue, but was wondering if there's anything else I should try before going this route? Manual troubleshooting section was no help.

Related question - does anyone have experience (positive or negative) with the cheap Chinese gate opener systems readily available online? Looks like I could buy a whole system for less than the price of a replacement board for the LA400 (if I end up needing one). Given the age of my system, wondering whether that would be a better option.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Power everything down (120volts) let sit for 15 minutes then install new batteries in the remote…….. power up and re-program.

 

[walta]

First be sure the ground out to the gate is good. Ungrounded computers tend to reset to the default setting.

How low does the voltage drop when the gate motors starts? Test the voltage by running a 1500 watt appliance at the gate and see how low the voltage drops. This could make it reset also.

If there is a light controlled by the gate operator try disconnecting it. Could make enough electrical noise to reset the board.

You could install a third-party remote that connects to button that still works.

Walta

 

[4xdog]

Any chance the opener is experiencing intermittent loss of power? My Liftmaster openers forget their remotes if I deenergize the circuit they're on.

 

[American Locomotive]

Does the gate motor have any kind of battery inside or on the control board? Sounds like a classic case of a memory battery going bad.

Do both remotes stop working at the same time?

 

[Mismail]

Our rental property has a Liftmaster LA400 security gate operator. At least 20 years old, we had the control board replaced ~9 years ago.

Lately it has developed an issue where the gate opener will "forget" the paired remotes roughly every few weeks or so. The opener will still work fine via the open/close button on the control board, and if I re-pair the remotes they will work for a few more weeks.

I'm pretty sure a new control board ($$$) will fix the issue, but was wondering if there's anything else I should try before going this route? Manual troubleshooting section was no help.

Related question - does anyone have experience (positive or negative) with the cheap Chinese gate opener systems readily available online? Looks like I could buy a whole system for less than the price of a replacement board for the LA400 (if I end up needing one). Given the age of my system, wondering whether that would be a better option.

Based on your symptoms, a new control board is the most likely solution, but the high failure rate and mixed user reviews of cheap online systems suggest a replacement board for your older, reliable unit may be the wiser investment.

 

[gkw4815]

Power everything down (120volts) let sit for 15 minutes then install new batteries in the remote…….. power up and re-program.

Sounds like a sensible place to start - will try this first.

First be sure the ground out to the gate is good. Ungrounded computers tend to reset to the default setting.

How low does the voltage drop when the gate motors starts? Test the voltage by running a 1500 watt appliance at the gate and see how low the voltage drops. This could make it reset also.

If there is a light controlled by the gate operator try disconnecting it. Could make enough electrical noise to reset the board.

You could install a third-party remote that connects to button that still works.

Walta

I'll have to check on the ground. Per the wiring diagram, there should be a ground connected to the board, but I don't recall 100% whether this is present.

The gate opener is powered by 12v batteries which are charged by a trickle charger powered by 120v. Nothing else is currently connected to the circuit which powers the charger. Both the trickle charger and the batteries connect through the main board.

I like the idea of installing an aftermarket remote system that connects to the "button input" on the board - I may try that before spending $$$ to replace the board or opener system.

Any chance the opener is experiencing intermittent loss of power? My Liftmaster openers forget their remotes if I deenergize the circuit they're on.

Would that matter, given that the board is always powered by the 12v batteries? In the past, I've verified that these batteries will open the gate if the 120v power is disconnected.

Does the gate motor have any kind of battery inside or on the control board? Sounds like a classic case of a memory battery going bad.

Do both remotes stop working at the same time?

All remotes stop working at the same time. I can't see any type of battery on the board, and there's no reference in the manual to replacing any battery in the board that maintains the "memory".

Based on your symptoms, a new control board is the most likely solution, but the high failure rate and mixed user reviews of cheap online systems suggest a replacement board for your older, reliable unit may be the wiser investment.

Thanks for the advice. Indeed, other than the board issues and the need to change batteries every 3 years, the system has been trouble-free. When the board was last replaced 9 years ago, the symptoms were different (ie the gate wasn't working at all).

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Just thinking here…… Did this just happen or was some work (on the electrical system) being done that could have caused this problem?
Electrical and RF interference can wreak havoc on circuit boards and even "little things" like a LED bulb can cause problems on garage door openers.

 

[gkw4815]

Our previous tenants first mentioned the issue a few months ago (house is currently vacant). I can't think of anything significant that's changed w/r/t the electrical loads on the property.

If replacing remote batteries and power-cycling the board doesn't solve the issue, I think wiring a remote-controlled low-voltage momentary switch to the "one-button input" is going to be the way to go. I've previously done the same with a wifi-controlled relay, which our previous tenants never used. Looks like a remote-controlled switch is only ~$13 on Amazon...sure beats $500 for a new board.

 

[kbuhagiar]

I like the idea of installing an aftermarket remote system that connects to the "button input" on the board - I may try that before spending $$$ to replace the board or opener system.

If you decide to go this route, I have been using a Remootio remote system trouble-free for almost three years now.

Remootio - Make your gates and garage doors smart!

Remootio smart gate and garage door opener is an end-to-end encrypted Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled smart remote controller, that lets you control and monitor your gates and garage doors using your smartphone. Works with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Samsung SmartThings.

www.remootio.com

 

[walta]

I still think you need to consider the possibility that under load the power supply is dropping out to the point that the board loads the default setting. How old is the battery? When the motor starts how low does the battery voltage drop?

 

[gkw4815]

Will check that. Current batteries are about 1.5 years old, I've typically gotten 3-4 years out of each set. When previous ones have died, the remote memory wasn't affected, the gate just stopped working or would stop partway through its cycle.

Unfortunately the idea of using a separate remote controlled momentary relay isn't looking up...I haven't been able to find one that both:
-runs on the 24v DC available via an output from the LA400 board and
-works on standard gate/garage door opener frequencies and therefore is compatible with standard universal remotes (might have to compromise on this requirement)

 

[4xdog]

Would that matter, given that the board is always powered by the 12v batteries? In the past, I've verified that these batteries will open the gate if the 120v power is disconnected.

Yeah, given yours have battery backup (which mine don’t) there indeed should be any effect from a main power loss.

 

[kbuhagiar]

Unfortunately the idea of using a separate remote controlled momentary relay isn't looking up...I haven't been able to find one that both:
-runs on the 24v DC available via an output from the LA400 board and
-works on standard gate/garage door opener frequencies and therefore is compatible with standard universal remotes (might have to compromise on this requirement)

So this wouldnt work?
The Remootio is my software-based (smart phone) solution. but I installed this Liftmaster unit and it works with all of my legacy garage door openers.

LiftMaster 850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver - Garage Door Hardware - Amazon.com

LiftMaster 850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver - Garage Door Hardware - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[gkw4815]

Battery voltage was ~13v with minimal (~0.1v) drop while gate was actuating, so I don't think that's the problem. Ground wire was in place.

Disconnected everything for 15 minutes and reset, and removed the WiFi inching relay that had been installed to eliminate potential source of interference. Remotes are working now, we'll see how long that lasts. If any more issues I guess the next step will be installing one of those liftmaster external modules.

 

[gkw4815]

So this wouldnt work?
The Remootio is my software-based (smart phone) solution. but I installed this Liftmaster unit and it works with all of my legacy garage door openers.

LiftMaster 850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver - Garage Door Hardware - Amazon.com

LiftMaster 850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver - Garage Door Hardware - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Thanks again. This was the answer!

After resetting everything and replacing batteries, the remotes only worked for a couple more days with the original board. I purchased and installed the liftmaster external remote module and it works perfectly.

As an added bonus... apparently the cheap Chinese gate openers typically use non-standard remote frequencies, so if my aged gate operator fails and I replace with a whole new system, I can reuse the liftmaster external remote module to allow the old remotes to keep working.